A 45-year-old diver from Gijón in northern Spain died on Saturday 12 September after getting into trouble in the water off Radazul, on the east coast of Tenerife.
Tenerife's Canary Islands Government emergency coordination centre, CECOES 112, received a call at 10.34 am reporting a diver in difficulty near the coast. Two ambulances were sent to Radazul's marina, where the man was brought ashore by boat. Emergency services said medical teams found him in cardiorespiratory arrest and carried out basic and advanced CPR, but were unable to revive him. Maritime rescue crews and beach lifeguards also responded, and the 112 coordinator brought in the Local Police and the Guardia Civil to assist.
For anyone who dives in the Canary Islands, the location matters. Radazul is one of Tenerife's best-known shore-diving sites, with a cluster of dive schools operating around its small marina. Its appeal lies in the variety on offer within a short distance: shallow, sheltered areas right by the shore are commonly used for entry-level training, refresher sessions and check dives, while deeper ground a little further out hosts advanced courses and technical diving. That mix of convenience and depth so close to shore is exactly why the site is busy with divers of every experience level — and why an incident here resonates through the island's dive community.
The report does not say what caused the emergency, and no details beyond the response itself have been released. Divers planning trips to Tenerife in the meantime may want to use the moment for the unglamorous basics: honest self-assessment of fitness and recent dive history, thorough buddy checks, clear surface-support arrangements when shore diving, and knowing the emergency numbers and recompression resources for the area. In an emergency across Spain the number is 112, which dispatches the Canary Islands' combined emergency services.
For the broader travel reader, the story is a reminder that Tenerife's dive scene is genuinely busy and well developed — this was not a remote accident site but a marina minutes from emergency response infrastructure. The island offers year-round diving in volcanic underwater terrain, with sights such as rays, angel sharks and lava formations, and Radazul sits conveniently near the capital, Santa Cruz. Divers heading there will find plenty of established operators, but should treat shore entries and depth like anywhere else: conditions that look easy can still go wrong quickly.
Our thoughts are with the diver's family and friends.
Story via Dive Magazine.